generated: '2026-09-18'
method: searched
source: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/intro
provider: Modal
providerId: modal-labs
name: modal
description: >-
  The `modal` CLI is Modal's primary operational entry point. It ships inside the
  Python SDK (`pip install modal` installs the binary) and speaks the same gRPC
  control plane the SDKs use — there is no REST layer beneath it. It covers the
  full resource surface (apps, containers, volumes, secrets, dicts, queues,
  images, environments, workspaces) plus deploy/run/serve/shell flows and, newer,
  billing reporting and agent-skill installation.
docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/intro
install:
- method: pip
  command: pip install modal
  note: The CLI is a console script inside the `modal` PyPI distribution.
- method: setup
  command: modal setup
  note: Authenticates the CLI and writes a token to ~/.modal.toml.
commands:
- name: modal setup
  group: auth
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/setup
  description: Authenticate the CLI against a Modal workspace.
- name: modal token
  group: auth
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/token
  description: Create and manage API tokens (token id + token secret).
- name: modal profile
  group: auth
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/profile
  description: Switch between named local profiles.
- name: modal config
  group: auth
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/config
  description: Inspect and set CLI configuration.
- name: modal run
  group: execution
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/run
  description: Run a Modal function ephemerally from a local file.
- name: modal deploy
  group: execution
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/deploy
  description: Deploy an App so its functions persist and can be looked up.
- name: modal serve
  group: execution
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/serve
  description: Serve an App with hot reload for local development.
- name: modal shell
  group: execution
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/shell
  description: Open an interactive shell in a container matching a function's image.
- name: modal curl
  group: execution
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/curl
  description: >-
    Call an authenticated Modal endpoint without hand-setting proxy token
    headers. Documented as experimental.
- name: modal app
  group: resources
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/app
  description: >-
    List, stop, roll back, roll over and inspect deployment history for Apps.
- name: modal container
  group: resources
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/container
  description: List, log, exec into and stop running containers.
- name: modal endpoint
  group: resources
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/endpoint
  description: Deploy and manage Modal Endpoints (managed LLM inference servers).
- name: modal image
  group: resources
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/image
  description: List, inspect, log and delete container images.
- name: modal volume
  group: resources
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/volume
  description: Create, list, put/get files on and delete Volumes.
- name: modal secret
  group: resources
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/secret
  description: Create, list and delete Secrets.
- name: modal dict
  group: resources
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/dict
  description: Create, list, inspect and delete Dicts.
- name: modal queue
  group: resources
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/queue
  description: Create, list, peek and delete Queues.
- name: modal environment
  group: workspace
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/environment
  description: Manage environments, their RBAC roles and environment-scoped billing.
- name: modal workspace
  group: workspace
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/workspace
  description: Manage workspace members, settings and proxy tokens.
- name: modal billing
  group: workspace
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/billing
  description: Report workspace spend, credit usage and current pricing rates.
- name: modal dashboard
  group: workspace
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/dashboard
  description: Open the web dashboard for the current workspace or App.
- name: modal skills
  group: agents
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/skills
  description: >-
    Install, show and update Modal's published agent skills into .agents/ or
    .claude/. This is Modal's first-party agent-onboarding surface.
- name: modal changelog
  group: meta
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/changelog
  description: Print the SDK/CLI release notes from the terminal.
- name: modal bootstrap
  group: meta
  docs: https://modal.com/docs/cli/latest/bootstrap
  description: Scaffold a new Modal project.
key_flows:
- name: First deploy
  steps:
  - pip install modal
  - modal setup
  - modal run my_script.py
  - modal deploy my_script.py
- name: Roll back a bad deploy
  steps:
  - modal app history my-app
  - modal app rollback my-app v3
  note: >-
    The App must currently be in a "deployed" state; the rollback itself appears
    as a new deployment in the App history.
- name: Onboard a coding agent
  steps:
  - modal skills install --claude
  - modal skills update
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com